The Goodguys 3rd Spring Nationals

1/25The grounds of the Westworld facility in Scottsdale, AZ, are laid out well and a perfect location for a big car show.

After a dozen years of running a successful outdoor car show (the Southwest Nationals) at the Westworld facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, Goodguys decided to expand their schedule of events by having two events per year at the venue and, three years into the new format, it looks like the Spring Nationals is a winner.

2/25On Friday night one of the Goodguys TGIF parties was held at Squeeg’s Kustoms, a hot rod shop that has had a high level of success lately (including the building of last year’s AMBR winner), which fed hundreds of attendees and gave out prizes. They also had two race cars—a front-engine dragster and the other being a former Budweiser King Funny Car—for a mini cackle fest a couple of times during the evening. The photo above shows Squeeg’s assembly room.

Loads of pre-’72 cars crowded onto the grassy 19-acre Polo field over the three days, and with Goodguys opening up their events to all makes and models of American-powered vehicles for their Super Sunday Get-Together, the grounds were full of some great cars to check out.

Those getting to the event on Thursday, which is the first show of the Goodguys’ season, could partake in a hot rod tour that visited local rod shops and, on Friday, a TGIF party was held at Squeeg’s Kustom Hot Rod Shop in Chandler. Host Doug Jerger provided food for the attendees, and spectators were eligible for free giveaways as well as be treated to a mini cackle fest between a front-engine dragster and a former Funny Car.

At the Westworld facility, all three days saw action over at the Autocross track where competitors raced against a clock on a closed-loop course, and the owners of all sorts of vehicles, from race-prepped roadsters to the family truck, were all pushing their driving skills to the limit.

Elsewhere at the event Goodguys exercised their usual level of expertise in producing a show that included special parking for trucks and Deuces, muscle cars and homebuilts, and one area for those who had driven more than 300 miles to get to the show (the Ya Gotta Drive ’Em group). The Spring Nationals was also one of the 10 stops in STREET RODDER’s Top 100 program for 2012, and 10 worthy cars were picked off the grounds to compete for the magazine’s Street Rod of the Year honors.

3/25Glossy paint or not, everybody is welcomed at the Goodguys shows. In the background is Mark Angulo’s ’50 Chevy truck from Tolleson, AZ, and in the foreground, Robert Gonzales’ ’48 Chevy Fleet Master, also from Tolleson.

The Southwest has always been a great place to find old metal to build a hot rod from, and the swap meet at this event was pretty good, too. Dozens of cars for sale and used parts to build ’em were available for some really good prices. Of course if you wanted to go “new,” row after row of aftermarket parts manufacturers were lined up, enticing rodders with their wares.

Any way you cut it, the Goodguys’ Scottsdale event, with its great location and spectacular Arizona springtime weather, will most assuredly grow into a major show for the organizers. And with the expansion of their show schedule, you now have two times a year to experience it.

Painless Performance Products presents STREET RODDER TOP 100

For the Top 100 program, STREET RODDER attends 10 particular car shows each year and picks 10 vehicles at each to make up the Top 100. For more on where those shows are and how they’re voted on, check www.streetrodder.com.

Tech Tip

EFI MAP Sensor

If you have a manifold atmospheric pressure sensor (MAP) with a hose attached from the manifold, be sure it has not weakened and collapsed, which will cause a rich fuel mixture to occur and driveability issues.